Ramón Fuentes

Appearance: Ramón is 5'8", weighing a fairly average 140 lbs, though the muscles in his legs are notably solid. Ethnically hispanic, he has a slight tan from spending a lot of time outside, and some scarring on his cheeks from acne breakouts. His hair is short, dark and curly, cut quite close to his head. Although Ramón has begun to develop facial hair, he shaves religiously and hence his chin is always clear. Facially, he could probably be considered conventionally handsome, with well-defined cheekbones, a strong jaw, expressive brown eyes and a well-proportioned face.

Generally Ramón can be found wearing athletic shirts and shorts. When selected for TV, his outfit was a lightweight white sports jacket, underneath which he had an a-shirt, as well as medium length navy blue shorts and trainers.

Biography: Ramón is the third son and fourth and youngest child of Celia and Jesús Fuentes, the owners and operators of a small grocery store in Albuquerque. The pair met through Jesús's family's regular patronage of the store, which at the time was being run by Celia's father, and after befriending each other as children and growing up together, the pair eventually married. After Celia's father passed away, she took up ownership of the store alongside Jesús and began to raise a family. Over the course of ten years, the Fuentes family added Crúz, Francisco, Emilia and eventually Ramón, the youngest by three years.

Ramón's childhood was one of constant nurture - his family was very close, including aunts, uncles and grandparents (the latter on his father's side), and there was rarely a moment that Ramón couldn't have one family member or another to talk to or play with. Ramón was helping out in the store from the age of six, though of course not in any 'official' capacity, and quickly found a head for numbers, fascinated by prices and how all of the figures added up to one big total. Although the shop was often busy, and Ramón was the youngest of four, his parents usually made time for all of their children, so he never felt neglected, even if Crúz and Francisco occasionally exercised the 'big brother' card to tease him.

However, as Ramón got a little older, he began to find the constant hustle and bustle of homelife overbearing. It seemed like he could never have any time to himself, and there was always one relative or another hanging out in the store and chattering and insisting on catching up with what he'd been doing since he saw them last, no matter how inane. School, as it happened, proved to be an escape for that, allowing Ramón to concentrate on something than the constant bustle of familial socialising. He took to education like a duck to water, and even from a young age, worked very hard in all of his classes, always curious and eager to learn new things. Furthermore, whilst at home, Ramón would withdraw as much as he could, often retreating to the store-cum-house's attic.

It was here that he discovered a box of his grandfather's old things. Amidst the knick-nacks and curios were a large number of dusty novels that his mother had packed away. After getting permission, Ramón brought up a couple of cushions into the attic and would spend many hours reading - amazed that it seemed like hardly anyone ever talked about books and novels, something that he was very disappointed to discover. It was a little distressing to excitedly talk about Harry Potter and Abhorsen and only receive a blank look from his sister in return. There were to him, entire fantasy worlds hidden away between the pages of those books... but nobody else seemed to share that view with him.

Reaching teenage-hood only served to emphasise the growing distance between Ramón and his other family members. He still loved them all dearly, but in many ways he just didn't feel like he fitted in very well. Crúz and Francisco adored SOTF-TV and tried to get Ramón into it, but he disliked watching it - it was all so glitzy and dramatised. It wasn't even the violence, it was the way that everyone dressed it up with pomp and circumstances and analysed and re-analysed everything... it all came across as over hyped and artificial, constructed for television. He knew it was real, of course, but the pop culture made it come across as more fake than fiction. Voicing as much only got an eyeroll from Francisco and light jibing from Crúz, both of the opinion that if a book was not a novelization of SOTF-TV it wasn't much worth reading, much to Ramón's chagrin.

Hitting high school, Ramón's excellent grades meant that he was lucky enough to get offered a scholarship at the prestigious Davison Secondary School. Although not exactly in love with the idea of going to a school sponsored by a show he didn't like very much, Ramón was well aware that there was no way his family could pay for such a good institution otherwise, and given his voracious appetite for learning, this wasn't a chance that he wanted to pass up. Although maybe not as social as his parents would have liked, Ramón still wanted to make his family proud and made the maximum effort possible, acing the entry tests with near perfect marks.

Even so, Ramón was still hankering for personal space at home, particularly because he had been expected to help out in the store for several years now. Scraping together some money, Ramón got hold of a second hand bicycle and began to take it through the streets of Albuquerque, searching for places where he could have some peace and quiet. He soon hit upon the idea to take novels and textbooks with him on these sojourns, and before long, he was spending hours at a time in secluded spots - parks, quiet parts of town, the local library - either reading or doing schoolwork. Occasionally, Ramón would cycle for its own sake, finding that it gave him time to think.

At school, Ramón is a little quiet and considered by most to be overly serious due to how much stock he places in the importance of classes. Scratch the surface, and he's social enough, but his first instinct isn't to be friendly, which can make him come across as a bit awkward and cold. His grades are still very good, especially in math, which he has remained in love with and has become very acute at, though this has occasionally drawn accusations of being a nerd. Ramón home life is good at present - his parents were a little worried that he was overly reserved, but soon relaxed when they realised that he just needed some space, whilst his relationships with his siblings are about as good as one can expect - he gets along fine with all three.

Advantages: Ramón is fairly fit thanks to his cycling, meaning his stamina is decent and his legs strong. Although he doesn't show it very often in day-to-day, Ramón is quite socially competent and good at mediation. His closeness to his family could prove to be a powerful motivator.Disadvantages: Ramón finds SOTF-TV boring and has never paid much attention to it, so lacks much if any knowledge on the strategies of the show. He doesn't have many friends around school, and is generally viewed as a bit of a teacher's pet, so he might have some difficulty getting past people's preconceived opinions of him.

Designated Number: Rose Foxes 1 (RF1)

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Designated Weapon: Kimber Stainless Raptor II

Mentor Comment:"Sounds like an underdog... hrmph, weird to see someone who just doesn't care about the show. Guess he'll have to learn quick."

Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Ramón. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!

Ramón (the accent is important!) was an interesting character with a strong voice who just didn't get the same amount of time to shine as a lot of the other early-game TV2 deaths. As something of an outsider to SOTF, Ramón provided a good point of sympathy for the reader. He's a normal guy trapped in a horrible and abnormal situation, and the strangeness and tension get to him some, ultimately leading him to turn aggressor in his encounter with Matt.

This all does a good job of setting up what becomes Ramón's most important scene, and one that plays a pretty underrated role in the development of the entire version: his showdown with Corin Albanesi. Ramón and Corin find themselves in conflict because neither can trust the other, and the tension bubbles over when Corin accidentally fires the first shot. The pair almost mirror each other in a number of ways, and Corin is left shaken and with blood on his hands in the aftermath of their conflict, something that sets the path that eventually leads him through the game.

Actually, in reviewing him, I'm struck by Ramón's consistency and quality. He had the misfortune to pass through some slower threads, but he doesn't have any wasted scenes and his character is strongly portrayed and intriguing. He's one of the normal guys of the season, and like so many normal people in such extreme situations, his eventual fate isn't pretty. - MurderWeasel

Rip in peace Ramón, breaking shit on the wiki from the grave three years later. - backslash